I-680 In Walnut Creek Would Get Share Of $6M: Infrastructure Bill

WALNUT CREEK, CA — The U.S. House of Representatives approved a $715 billion infrastructure plan, and if the Senate passes it, it will mean $6 million for traffic signal system upgrades along Interstate Highway 680 in Walnut Creek, Concord, Pleasant Hill and Danville.

If President Joe Biden signs it into law, it would be the nation’s largest infrastructure investment in about 75 years: a 50 percent increase over the last infrastructure budget, according to The New York Times.

California would be a big winner under the proposed law. The bill includes more than $900 million for projects throughout the Golden State. They include bridges, bike lanes and express lanes, railway expansions, electric vehicle charging stations, zero-emission transit fleets, tunnels, transportation hubs, wastewater and drinking water projects and other infrastructure to prepare for rising sea levels.

Locally, $6 million is earmarked for the I-680 upgrades in Walnut Creek, Concord, Pleasant Hill and Danville. The funds were requested by U.S. Rep Mark DeSaulnier, who represents the cities in Congress.

Another $742,000 would go toward San Pablo Avenue Rehabilitation in Pinole, funding for which was requested by U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson.

The surface transportation and water spending bill prioritizes a Democratic wish list of projects for combating climate change. Democratic legislators argued that the funding is needed to contend with the effects of climate change and reduce the nation’s carbon footprint.

The unprecedented heat wave gripping the Pacific Northwest, killing dozens, added a sense of urgency among Democrats, who pushed the bill forward this week over Republican objections in the House.

“We have to rebuild in ways that we never even thought about before,” Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Oregon), chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, told The New York Times. “This is the moment. We have to be bold.”

Click here to see all California projects that would be funded under the current bill.

Patch staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.